Middlesbrough
Evaluating screening for ovarian cancer
Due to the lack of obvious symptoms, over half of women with ovarian cancer will not be diagnosed until the disease is in its late stages. By that time, the cancer tends to have spread to other parts of the body and is more difficult to treat.
Existing national screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer are proving to be successful in saving lives. But at present there is no national screening programme for ovarian cancer, and only women with a strong family history are regularly monitored for early signs of the disease.
The results of previous smaller trials for ovarian cancer have led doctors and scientists to believe that routine screening of all post-menopausal women may facilitate the early diagnosis and successful treatment of the disease in many more cases.
The UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS) is a large-scale clinical trial that will assess the effectiveness and feasibility of a national ovarian cancer screening programme. The trial is comparing two different screening tests. It aims to find out if either test works and which one is better at detecting the early stages of this disease. The trial will involve 200,000 women and is taking place in hospitals across the UK, including James Cook University Hospital.
As well as assessing the effectiveness of ovarian screening in saving lives, the trial will also look at the long-term economic impact of a national programme, and the psychological impact screening could have on women.
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